Los Blancos tied up their first league title since 2017 with a 2-1 victory over Villarreal and are worthy winners despite claims of VAR assistance
As a player, Zinedine Zidane was renowned for sudden, violent outbursts. As a coach, he is far more adept at keeping his emotions in check.
Monday night at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes was different, though.
Zidane knew that a win would leave his Real Madrid side needing just two points from their two remaining Liga fixtures to secure their 34th title.
He celebrated Ferland Mendy and Karim Benzema’s first-half goals wholeheartedly and when Granada pulled a goal back just after the interval, he booted a ball away in frustration in his technical area.
Despite intense late pressure from the hosts, though, Madrid held firm, and as the final whistle blew on a crucial 2-1 victory, Zidane let out an almighty roar.
“That scream at the end was only normal,” he said afterwards, “because you suffer a lot.”
Indeed, this wasn’t an expression of joy but a cry of defiance, because Zidane and Real have suffered a lot over the past two years.
And now, following their 2-1 win over Villarreal on Thursday, that suffering has paid off.
When he sensationally stepped down as Madrid coach in May 2018, after leading the club to a third consecutive Champions League, Zidane explained that he felt he was no longer the right man for the job.
He thought Real couldn’t continue winning with him; as it transpired, they couldn’t win without him. Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari both tried to fill the void left behind by Zidane. Both failed.
So, Perez brought him back last March, at a time when Real were in utter disarray after seeing their prospects of winning a major title in 2018-19 effectively ended by three defeats in a week.
Losses to Barcelona in both the Copa del Rey and La Liga hit the fans hard, but it was the shock Champions League elimination at home to Ajax which devastated Madrid.
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